Two technical personnel from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) have completed an international training program in South Korea aimed at strengthening the Philippines' capabilities in sustainable mineral resource development and recycling technologies.
Armani Estanislao of the MGB's Lands Geological Survey Division and Engr. Albertini Buca of the Metallurgical Technology Division represented the Philippines at the KIGAM IS-Geo Capacity Building Training Program on Resource Utilization and Recycling Technologies, held from June 15 to 20 in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
The program was jointly organized by the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) and the International School for Geoscience Resources (IS-Geo) of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM). It brought together 26 geoscience professionals from 11 CCOP member countries.
The weeklong training featured lectures and technical field visits focusing on sustainable mineral processing, critical minerals and circular economy practices.
Participants discussed mineralogical characterization techniques to improve the extraction and beneficiation of critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, graphite and rare earth elements.
The program also highlighted resource recirculation strategies through waste-to-resource systems. Participants visited facilities using artificial intelligence and robotics to automate waste sorting and recover valuable materials from end-of-life products.
The Philippine delegates also toured an industrial-scale battery recycling plant that uses environmentally friendly technologies to recover critical metals from spent electric vehicle batteries, reducing environmental impacts while helping secure supplies of strategic raw materials.
According to the MGB, the training will support the bureau's efforts to strengthen mineral exploration and develop more efficient processing methods for the country's critical mineral resources, including low-grade and unconventional deposits.
The bureau said the program also reinforced the integration of geology and metallurgy to promote science-based resource management and support the Philippines' goal of sustainable mineral development.
